About Us.

ROOP is committed to a literate Victoria where disadvantaged children have the opportunities that literacy provides. Our model for impact is grounded in creating a culture of literacy for the children we serve – providing choice, access, and engagement opportunities for these children and the educators, parents and caregivers that support them.

ROOP is an important voice for children’s literacy, and in partnership with grassroots networks, volunteers, community hubs and playgroups across Victoria.

OUR MISSION

We strive to ensure that every disadvantaged Victorian child has the opportunity to acquire literacy and reading skills to reach their full potential, succeed at school and beyond.

OUR VISION

A Victoria where children from all cultures, genders and backgrounds can access quality education, reach their full potential and contribute to their community and the world.

OUR HISTORY

Reading Out of Poverty (ROOP) was established in 2011 with a focus on literacy and reading support programs in the inner-city housing commission flats in Victoria. Over the past 7 years, we have expanded our programs and services delivery to include Melbourne, Geelong and regional Victoria. Today, as a peak NGO in Victoria, we seek to raise greater awareness and understanding on the importance of early childhood literacy skills and targeted support to homes where there is generational illiteracy. We are Victoria’s only organisation with a sole focus on early literacy development for children aged 0-5.

OUR IMPACT

Reading out of Poverty is committed to evaluation and measuring the impact our programs make with children in disadvantaged communities. We use a monitoring and evaluation framework to capture quantitative and qualitative data on each of our programs using a number of different tools – volunteer reporting, evaluation forms, surveys, focus groups and feedback from key stakeholders. In 2016-17 our measurements showed that children who participated in targeted Read Aloud sessions improved their reading abilities by 26%.

OUR ANNUAL REPORT

OUR PROGRAM EVALUATION REPORT

The People Behind ROOP

Andrew Kay

Executive Director

Andrew has had 35 years’ experience in the not for profit and education sector. He serves on the boards of World Literacy Foundation, World Literacy Summit, Victoria Day Council and In2Life. He is a member of the International Literacy Association. He was awarded Victorian of the Year in 1998 for his service to the community.

Jen Frees

Communications and Volunteer Coordinator

Jen started with ROOP in January 2017 as an Intern, where she was responsible for kick-starting and managing our social media accounts. After 6 months working with ROOP, she has now joined as a fully-fledged staff member. Jen has degrees in Media & Communications and Psychology, and is thrilled to have the opportunity to help bring the joy of reading and books to disadvantaged children across Victoria.

Committee of Management

Darryn Keneally, Managing Director, Janico Pty. Ltd

Angelica Correa, Project Coordinator, Refuge of Hope Inc.

Paula Londono, Project Manager, World Literacy Foundation Inc.

Andrew Kay, Executive Director ROOP/WLF

John Steward, Community Development Specialist

Andrea Gualteros

Design and Administration Support

Andrea joined the ROOP team in early 2018. She has been coordinating the digital content and designing the marketing and fundraising materials. Andrea is passionate about reading and writing.

Education Advisory Group

5 community members with expertise in Literacy, Education and Early Childhood Development.